Unlike most other methods of measuring time, the specific hourglass represents the past and the future, which has made it a long-lasting time symbol itself.

Various computer programs and earlier versions of Windows may change the mouse cursor to an hourglass. During this time the program may not accept user input during the middle of a task. During this time, other programs, in different windows, for example, may work properly. When the Windows hourglass does not disappear, it indicates that a program is an infinite loop, needs to be terminated, or is waiting for some external event (such as the user inserting a CD). On U+231B(?), Unicode also has an hourglass symbol.